PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. PCOS is actually a misnomer, because it only refers to one of many symptoms associated with this disorder. It affects between 5 to 10% of all women and is one of the leading causes of infertility. If the hormone imbalance is left untreated, the syndrome may lead to life-threatening illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, obesity, and uterine and endometrial cancers.

Symptoms can be mild or severe, and can vary widely from woman to woman. This is part of the reason doctors often miss the diagnosis. Someone with PCOS may have one or all of the following
symptoms in varying degrees:

It is possible to have the above symptoms and not have PCOS. However, most women with these symptoms, especially irregular menstrual cycles, do have PCOS. In fact, 80 percent of women with six or fewer periods per year have PCOS.